I saw this on Domesticali's blog and decided to have a go myself. This is the result.



1. Tini Tot Mods Paper Dolls, 2. Enjoing the Icecream, 3. Westhill Academy, 4. La Gare de Strasbourg, 5. OUT962515, 6. Diet., 7. Las Vegas - Nevada, 8. Cho Cho Cho, 9. pick one, 10. I'm singing in the rain...Just singing in the rain...What a glorious feeling!!!I`m happy again!, 11. Running ahead of oneself, 12. 1993 Mercury Cougar Dave gave Jo Anne

This is what to do:
The concept:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

Have a go - it's fun :)

I was downloading the pictures off my phone when I found some I thought I'd share. First up is the picture of a throw I bought a few months ago from a charity shop for £3.00 I really like it but am not sure where to put it/what to do with it!!


The next two are from when me and Nathaniel were gardening last week.




and this last one I took a few months ago of Zach (on right) with his best buddy Sammy. Such happy smiley boys :)

Templates

Well I've been playing around with the template as I get bored very easily!! I'm not sure whether it will stay like this (especially the header) but we'll see. It does mean that I've lost all the links I'd put on the right hand side so I'll have to add them on again! Oh well!!

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Lea at All Things Shabby Chic (link at the side).

The rules: I have to answer 6 questions about myself. At the end of the post, I then tags 6 people and posts their names, then go to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they have been tagged and asking them to read my blog for the rules. Then, I must let the person who tagged me know when I've posted my answers.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

I had been married for 1 year and was working at Leeds City Council with some great people. (yes, I was a child bride :) )

2. 5 things on my to do list today?

Get showered and dressed and get the kids dressed too! (it's half term so we've had a lazy morning!)

Go visit my baby nephew Ethan (and his parents of course :) )
Get my swap items ready for posting
Put items on freecycle
Watch England vs USA football match on tv

3. Snacks I enjoy?

yes. all of them. sweet or savory. not fussy!

Things I would do if I were a millionaire?

Pay off the mortgage and get a bigger house so I could have another baby! Give a lump sum to my sis and her husband and my BIL and his wife and baby for a deposit for a house. Stay being a SAHM otherwise I have to get a job for the next school year.

5. Places I lived?

I was born in West Yorkshire and lived there (in 4 different homes) until I was 14. Then I lived in Aberdeen, Scotland until I was 18, then I lived in Stavanger, Norway for a year. I then lived in Provo, Utah, USA for 4 years (went to university there) until I was 23. I then moved back to West Yorkshire where my parents had moved back to. I met my hubby, got married, lived in rented accom for 2 years, then moved to this house in Ossett in 1999.

>Right, now I have to tag 6 other people but will do that bit later. I have a 5 year old crawling all over me and is making typing quite difficult. Plus, need to do #1 on my list!!

birthdays, babies, busy days

Well the past few weeks have been quite fun and busy! I guess the biggest news is that my beautiful new nephew was born in the early hours of Friday morning, the day after my son's 5th birthday. My new nephew, Ethan, is absolutely beautiful and I'm in love with him already!! His mum had a relatively short labour for a first baby and is doing so well. Ethan is just the cutest little thing and I LOVE to have a cuddle with him when I can! Aren't babies so wonderful and bring such wonderful happy, peaceful feelings with them (amid the crying!). I'm so excited to be part of Ethan's life and we are so blessed to have him in our extended family! And I love his parents too :)

As mentioned above, Zach had his 5th birthday this week. My baby is 5! How did that happen :) He's still my cheeky monkey though. On Monday, after school, I took him and his best friend Sammy to the park where we met some other friends (Amos and Joe and their mum). Sammy was going on holiday on Tuesday morning so we had Zach's little birthday celebration on Monday so Sammy could be there. It wasn't his actual birthday until Thursday. Some other friends weren't able to attend so there were just 4 little boys. We played in the park's playground for an hour or so, then we took them to McDonalds for a happy meal. I took some power rangers cupcakes so after the happy meal we sang 'happy birthday' and ate a cupcake. The boys had a lovely time :) Even though it was just a simple 'play in the park and dinner at McD's' party instead of a big full-on party.

Nathaniel was off school at the beginning of the week with suspected conjunctivitis, but I think it was just allergies that affected his eyes. I really enjoyed spending one-on-one time with him. We took a trip to B&Q to buy some magnetic blackboard paint to use on a cupboard door in their bedroom but they didn't have any in. I wanted to paint the door so they can chalk on it and put fridge magnets on to hold up any work they want to display. I'll have to go another time when they get it back in stock. We then went to another store and bought a little flat-pack greenhouse. It's just a cheap little thing that you put together and it has a plastic cover that goes over it. We bought seed trays and lots of packets of seeds to grow. Mostly veggies such as broccoli, radishes, cabbages, etc, but also a few flower seeds. It was a really warm afternoon so we sat in the back garden with Nathaniel working away, putting compost in the trays and planting the seeds. He was really proud of his work. So imagine my sadness and disappointment when yesterday the wind was really strong and blew the greenhouse over, spilling the seeds and compost everywhere! When I went to survey the damage I saw that some of the seeds had started to grow and they were scattered all over! I scooped up the compost and put it back into the trays but I'm not sure whether they are all ruined or not. I feel really sad for Nathaniel that this has happened!! I'm hoping at least a few of the seeds may still grow. Oh well. At least we tried!!

The kids now have 2 weeks off school. I really enjoy them being at home! They have a party to attend later today, but no other plans for the rest of the week. Which is great as we can just take it as it comes and do whatever takes our fancy!! I just wish this weather would improve. It's still very windy, but sunny too. At least my washing should dry out on the line!

Boys, Babies, Bargains

When I read other people's blogs, they always have a witty or meaningful title. I really struggle putting a title on my entries........ so this is my best attempt!! :)

The boys have been loving going to school in just their polo shirts this week (obviously trousers as well, just not sweatshirts, jackets, hee hee). We are just loving this weather and long may it last!! The boys are able to run around in the garden after school. They have such a sense of freedom, rather than being cooped up indoors! I must say this weather puts me in a good mood too. It's just perfect at the moment. I'd like it like this all year round. It's not too warm that you can't do anything, but it's warm and sunny enough just to wear a tshirt. Lovely! So I'm planning a BBQ for Saturday when David gets home from work.

On Wednesday, I took Caitlin for her last midwife checkup before her due date {gulp}. Her due date is 8 days away and I'm so excited I can't imagine how Cait and Rick are feeling!! (actually I can as I've been there myself!). Oh, the joy of a new tiny baby. I'm so looking forward to my little snuggles with my brand spanking new nephew. I'm getting all excited about it just thinking about it :) And he's only going to be living 10 mins up the road. Oh, aren't I so blessed :) I'll get to see lots of him (if Cait and Rich don't get fed up of me visiting :) ) Aren't babies just the best way to start people :)

David and I popped into Wakefield today for a walk around town while the weather is so good. I managed to find a few bargains, happy day :) And pictures are below as we all know that a post like this is useless without them :)

A pair of black (the flash makes them grey) shorts for Nathaniel 50p

A Brand new pair of flip flops for me (cute with buttons and beads) £2.00
A cotton skirt for me £1.00 (or I may use the fabric for something else!)
A girls' cotton skirt (yes, I realise I have boys, but this is going to be made into a bag - I just love the fabric pattern!). 50p
A girls' tshirt. I am going to cut this cute, cute owl off the front and put on the front of a cushion. It's just adorable :) 50p
A wild and wacky shirt for Nathaniel. It's brand new with tags still attached. Might be a bit big for this summer as it's age 8 but will have to try it on him. 50p

Car Booting

Usually car boot sales are held on a Sunday which is frustrating as I can't go to them! But last week I saw a poster that was advertising a car boot sale at a church near to Asda which was being held on a Saturday, and at 10am too (not some unearthly hour!). So I arranged to meet my mum and dad there at 10.00, have a walk round and then they would take the boys with them as usual. We I arrived at Asda just after 9.30 so I could get some cash from the ATM. I then walked over to the church and was planning on just hanging around until 10.00 until I saw people already buying and selling, so off we went! We managed to have a good walk around before meeting my parents, and bought a few bits and pieces. I then took them back to the car and had another look around. The boys were looking for toys but there weren't too many people selling boys toys. Lots of baby toys and paraphanelia (how do you spell that??) but not much for Nat and Zach's age. They did manage to get a few cars, new in the box. And also some sort of remote control car that was new also. They have taken them with them so I'll have to look the later! Once mum and dad took the boys I was able to look without distraction! I bought a few bits before they left and mum bought me a couple of cake stands. It was lovely weather so it was nice to be outside. I'll post picture below of my finds. I did also find a brand new fire extinguisher for £3 - the type you have for the car. It was weird actually as my friend Jannine had been asking me where she could buy one as they are travelling to europe soon and want one for the car. I already have one, so when I saw this brand new one I bought it for her! I didn't take a picture of it because, well, it's a fire extinguisher!

After the car boot I bought a bacon butty from Asda. Yum! I then headed home. I was considering going to the Wakefield Hospice Warehouse shop but thought I might go next week inside. However, as I was driving home I ended up in the wrong lane and so decided to head there for a quick look anyway. I knew there was going to be a shoe sale on but I just assumed they would be second hand shoes. How wrong! When I got there I saw tables and tables full of brand new kids designer shoes - Lelli Kelly, Oilily etc! Apparently one of the expensive childrens boutique stores had had a flood and they had given all their 'damaged' stock to the Hospice Warehouse. Now I could see nothing wrong with the shoes I was looking at! They had their original prices in which varied from £25 to about £70. The Hospice were selling them all for £5 a pair!!! They have loads of beautiful, gorgeous, to die for toddler size girls and boys shoes, but not so many older boys (for Nat and Zach). After a little while I called Jannine and she came down to look for boots for Millie. She then called Amy who has twin 1 year old boys to tell her. I also called my friend Andrea to see what size shoe her little girl wears. We got a pair of boots for her, if they fit! A bit later Amy came along with the twins and we helped her find some shoes and tried them on her boys. I did manage to find one pair each for Nat and Zach. I bought the next size up for them. Jannine bought a couple of pairs for Millie and one for Sammy, and Amy bought a total of 4 pairs. I think I should have been paid commission! Amy also bought 2 pairs for her nephews. I think I was there for about 2 hours!! The pair I bought for Zach should have been £67 and the ones for Nat were £65. So bargains for a fiver!! If I'd have had more cash I would have bought some of the cute Lelli Kelly and Oilily shoes and put them on ebay and made some £££.

So here are the pics of today's finds:



A cute brand new (tag attached) Harrod's cord bag with Scottie dog. White Scottie on one side and black scottie on other. 50p

These were also 50p each. An animal print shopper (new) and a dolcis brown leather bag.

Cute china cake stands £1.50 each.
Gorgeous set of sandwich platter and 6 plates. £1.50 the set. Picture doesn't do them justice really.
Set of 6 teacups, saucers and plates. Want to have a tea party (even though I don't drink tea! how about a herbal tea party!). £1.00 for the lot!


A set of 4 70's kitchen storage jars. £1 for the set. These remind me of the Hornea Pottery ones my parents had!
An old sewing box. £1.00. I will probably paint this or do something to it!!

A tiny sugar bowl and cream/milk jug in a pleasant design! 20p each.
And for the boys - a power rangers weapon each. £1.00 each
And these are the brand new shoes for Nathaniel £5
And the new ones for Zach £5.00